Secretary's Day
by virtualfindingsdocumented
Summary: This year, Jacquelyn spent secretary's day helping an associate to distract a villain while other associates tried to rescue orphaned children. Last year, she spent the date in very different circumstances.


Jacquelyn typed furiously, trying to drown out the sounds of her boss coughing from the other room. You can't blame a person for coughing, but when said person is too stubborn to look for a doctor, and is generally not pleasant to work with, the sound could start taking a new meaning. Mr. Poe was not an evil person, but he was a source of headaches every since Jacquelyn started working for him, and so was his coughing. The woman sighed.

"Excuse me."

Jacquelyn looked up to see a suspicious looking man. He was dressed like a mailman, and had a name tag that said "mailman", but she had the feeling he was not a mailman.

"How can I help you?" She said, politely.

"I have a delivery for Miss Si- Shi- Schi-"

"Scieszka?"

The man nodded.

"Yes, that Miss."

"I am Miss Scieszka."

The man handed her a small piece of folded paper, on which was only written "Ms. Scieszka". There was no identification of the sender. Jacquelyn looked up back at the man, only to see he was already gone.

Jacquelyn studied the paper for a moment. Deciding it couldn't harm her if she read its contents, even if it was from an enemy, she unfolded it. There were a few words written.

" _French meal. 3 o' clock._

 _G._ "

Under the words, was a rushed drawing of an eye.

Jacquelyn frowned. Gustav was the only G. she could think of that would send her a message, and the handwriting matched, but he was not supposed to be in the city. It could be an impostor that was very good at forging handwriting, that was always a possibility. She looked at the clock. The time of the meeting was during her work hours, but if there was one advantage to working for Mr. Poe, was that it was very easy to find excuses to leave when needed. One look at the calendar gave her the perfect one.

When it was 2 o'clock, Jacquelyn knocked on her boss' door.

"Come in." Coughs. Jacquelyn struggled to keep the polite smile on her face.

"Mr. Poe. I need to leave."

"Right now?" The man asked, frowning. "It's still banking hours!"

Jacquelyn raised the calendar.

"It's secretary's day." She pointed at the marked date.

Mr. Poe's face changed to a thoughtful one.

"Well, I guess it would be unfair to keep you here during secretary's day. Alright, you can leave."

"Thank you, Mr. Poe." She gave another polite smile, which this time was sincere since she got what she wanted. She left before her boss burst into another fit of coughs.

The Veritable French Dinner was close enough to the bank, but arriving early is a sign of a noble person. She wondered what she would meet there. Her spyglass was safely inside her purse, ready for her to use in case this was a trap and she met enemies. But Jacquelyn hoped she would meet Gustav. It has been a while since she last saw him, since he started working with Dr. Montgomery and stayed in the scientist's house, far from the city, or accompanied him on his trips. Jacquelyn's work was in the city, and there she stayed unless a more crucial mission took her somewhere. Maybe Gustav would meet her with a more crucial mission. There was a certain excitement at the idea, but also worry. The chances of someone getting hurt, or even worse, were high.

She soon arrived at the restaurant, and was about to ask for help from a waiter when she noticed a large table on the far back. Its occupants had their backs to the entrance, but Jacquelyn could easily recognize them anywhere, unless they were well disguised, which their work often required. She couldn't keep either the smile or the frown from her face. On one hand, she was always happy to meet them. On the other, for all of them to be there could only mean there was something really terrible going on.

She approached the table and took a free seat. Then she gave a happy and worried look at the face of each of her associates, her friends. She realized she was the only one who looked worried.

Larry Your-Waiter was having some light talk with Jacques Snicket, whose sister, Kit, laughed at a story Mr. Quagmire told her. Mrs. Quagmire sat beside him, smiling and looking at him with that glow in her eyes that people who love each other very much always have. And beside her, Dr. Montgomery talked to Gustav Sebald, who was the first the notice Jacquelyn.

"I am here. What is the matter?"

"Nothing is the matter," Gustav said, standing up, while the other volunteers silently greeted Jacquelyn.

"For all of you to be reunited here, there must be a big matter," Jacquelyn said, standing up to greet her close friend. He pulled her into a tight embrace.

"Or a big celebration."

Jacquelyn gave him a confused look.

"What is there to celebrate?"

"Surely you must know what day today is," Larry said.

"Wednesday?"

"It is secretary's day!" Gustav said, in a very cheerful way. "It is your day, girl. Be proud!"

"I am proud," Jacquelyn said, sitting back in her chair. Gustav also went back to his seat, that was a little too far for Jacquelyn's liking. Still, he was closer to her than he had been in a long time. "But isn't it imprudent and dangerous for all of us to be at the same place?" She added, in a whisper.

"We can handle some extra danger for a good cause." Said Kit Snicket. "When was the last time that we all had the chance to meet like this?"

Jacquelyn didn't want to think of the last time, and she could see her associates didn't want either. They had lost many people since then. Even if this small group filled the table they currently sat at, they all could almost see the empty seats for those who were missing.

Jacquelyn didn't want to think of the last time, or of the next time, if there would be one. She wanted to think of this time, of how everyone was smiling at her as if there was nothing wrong outside their table. She would not cry in front of them, but it made her very emotional to see that they thought of her, that they were all willing to take the risk to do something for her. She gave a look at Gustav, and he showed her that mischevious smile that she loved so much. She was sure it had been all his idea.

They ordered their food, and they talked about light topics. Dr. Montgomery shared some of his recent discoveries, Gustav talked about an idea for a new movie that wouldn't leave his head (and even invited Jacquelyn to star in it, with a wink), Larry told about some interesting customers he met in his restaurant and Jacques told about some interesting passengers he met in his taxi. Kit talked about Dewey Denouement, who couldn't be there because his job required more secrecy than it was usual, and she had that glow in her eyes, a glow Jacquelyn hadn't seen in Kit Snicket's eyes in a long time. The Quagmire couple talked a bit about their adventures abroad and a lot about their adventures with their children, three lovely and brilliant kids who none of the others had the pleasure to meet yet. Jacquelyn complained about Mr. Poe. They also talked about books, shared news from associates that were in missions far away, discussed the food at that particular restaurant and compared it to other restaurants in all sort of different places.

It was wonderful. It was really as if none of the dangers of the world could reach them there. As they talked and ate and drank and laughed, Jacquelyn felt for the first time in a long time that she was really fortunate. She made it this far, she had the best associates she could wish for, she had two jobs - one paid and another volunteer - that, despite the danger and the headaches, she really loved. And that was enough.


End file.
